BALTIMORE – Russell Wilson was candid in his assessment of the game as everything began to unravel for the Steelers in their 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.

“This is unacceptable,” Wilson said of his fumble in the second quarter. “This can’t happen.”

The fumble, which occurred at the end of a 19-yard run when the quarterback ran into Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington just 4 yards from the end zone, was one of two critical turnovers Wilson caused in a loss , which prevented the Steelers from celebrating an AFC North title on the turf of their bitter rivals.

“It’s really just two negative plays,” said Wilson, who completed 22 of 33 attempts for 217 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. “I felt like I saw it well. I thought the guys made some really good plays. I can’t let that happen.

At the time of Wilson’s fumble, the Steelers (10-5) were tied 7-7 with the Ravens and had excellent starting position thanks to a 14-yard punt from Baltimore’s Jordan Stout.

After their first touchdown drive, the Steelers moved the ball well. They scored two plays of more than 10 yards on a reception by Jaylen Warren and a run by Najee Harris. Then on second-and-six, Wilson dropped back and, seeing a strip of green grass in front of him, decided to keep the ball and run it himself.

“I just thought we had a chance to get into the end zone and tried to hit back and just got hit,” Wilson said. “I think just before I hit the ground the ball came out.

“I kind of cut off the block and I just didn’t want to slide there, I didn’t want to slide there. I felt like we could have gotten into the end zone – tried to score a touchdown and go.” They played a good game for that.

Wilson was stopped — along with the Steelers’ momentum — by Washington’s tackle and Kyle Van Noy’s fumble recovery as the Ravens (10-5) responded with a 96-yard touchdown drive.

“There’s an ebb and flow of momentum in every game, so it didn’t feel like it was a lost cause at all at this point,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

Despite the missed opportunity in the second quarter, the Steelers managed to keep the game close until the fourth quarter.

After Minkah Fitzpatrick’s first interception in nearly two years, Wilson scored and scored his second costly turnover with 13:06 left. This time, Wilson was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey, who returned the ball 37 yards for a pick-six, giving the Ravens a 31-17 lead.

“I think that definitely changed the game when they got that interception,” Wilson said. “I thought the defense did a good job getting the ball back and I tried to throw it to him (MyCole Pruitt) on his front row. Unfortunately, I felt like the ball just stayed in there and they made a play.”

For the Ravens, Humphrey’s pick-six helped secure the team’s sixth playoff berth in seven years and ended Baltimore’s four-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. The Ravens are now tied for first place with the Steelers atop the AFC North with two weeks to go.

“I really feel like I bleed purple and black, and to capture a big play like that and win the playoffs was huge,” Humphrey said.

The Steelers traveled to Baltimore hoping to make up for last week’s loss to Philadelphia with a decisive win. Even if that didn’t happen, the Steelers still control their own destiny in the division thanks to their Week 11 win over the Ravens. The easiest way to win the AFC North and win the deciding home playoff game is to win the final two games against the Chiefs and Bengals.

That first step comes in four days when they host the AFC-leading Chiefs on Christmas Day, completing their three games in 11 days. The short turnaround means the Steelers don’t have time to wallow, Wilson said.

“We play on Wednesday,” Wilson said. “I don’t think we have enough time to really sulk, worry or be afraid about what we can do and how we’re going to react.

“We can’t let a tough game like this put us in a negative mood because there’s a lot more to play for and a lot more to strive for and we can still win the (AFC) North. That still exists.” There were plenty of options there too. So we just had to buckle up and get back to work.

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.